The present invention relates to a residual toner removing apparatus, and more particularly to a residual toner removing apparatus for use in an electrostatic copying machine.
According to a conventional residual toner removing apparatus, the elimination of toner particles remaining on a photoreceptor surface after transferring a toner powder image to a copy paper sheet is carried out by wiping the residual toner particles off the photoreceptor surface with a rotatable cleaner brush after the photoreceptor surface is electrically neutralized by an A.C. discharger. Although the residual toner particles may be approximately completely removed from the photoreceptor surface by the above method, toner particles adhering to the brush bristles of the cleaner brush can not be sufficiently removed and collected by a mere suction device, such as a fan, the amount of toner powder adhering to the bristles gradually increasing in the course of time with reduction of cleaning effect and durability of the cleaner brush itself.
In the conventional residual toner removing apparatus of the above construction, brush bristles of the cleaner brush are adapted to strike against a flicker rod provided in a path of the brush bristles as the cleaner brush rotates so as to shake loose toner particles adhering to the bristles and carry the dislodged toner particles by air flows produced by a suction device into a filter bag. However, the conventional apparatus of the above described type have such disadvantages that, when the brush bristles beat on the flicker rod, vortices of air tend to occur at the back of the flicker rod, causing the detached toner particles to stick to the brush bristles again.
Furthermore, a small space provided between the tips of brush bristles and the lower brush casing causes toner particles to accumulate on the surface of such casing and to scatter about when the cleaner brush is removed for maintenance or inspection of the apparatus. Since the dislodged toner particles floating in the air at the back of flicker rod are electrically charged due to friction, such particles are electrostatically attracted toward the bottom surface of the duct section connected to the filter section, resulting in reduced efficiency for toner removing.